Just Another Sucker

You don’t have to worry about the girl. She’s fine, but she won’t be if you pull a fast one.’

‘I understand.’

I had to hand it to him. He sounded unmoved and very, very calm.

I hung up, then leaving the terminus, I crossed to the Packard, got in and lit a cigarette.

I wasn’t unmoved nor was I very, very calm. If it hadn’t been for the thought of those two tapes in the bank that must give me protection against a prosecution if anything turned sour, I wouldn’t have gone through with this thing. With the tapes to safeguard me, and the thought that by tomorrow I would be worth fifty thousand dollars, I managed to screw up my nerves to finish the job.

I kept assuring myself that nothing could go wrong. So far, Rhea had been justified in predicting her husband’s reactions. It seemed to me, and I was groping for comfort, that the chances of him calling in the police when Odette returned was now remote.

The police would, of course, question Odette about the bashed wing of her car, and this I had warned her about. But with a man of Malroux’s influence behind her, the police couldn’t become too curious nor could they push her around.

I looked across at the bus terminal. There were a few people waiting for the bus. There were only about five other cars, besides mine, in the park. No one paid any attention to me. I was just another man, waiting for someone off the bus.

A few minutes after one o’clock, I saw the headlights of the bus as it came down the road. It swung to a standstill outside the terminus. There were about two dozen people in the bus. I leaned forward to stare anxiously through the wind-shield for the sight of Odette.

After a moment or so I spotted her. She was wearing the sun goggles, the red wig and the cheap blue and white dress. As she moved away from the bus, she looked anxiously around. She seemed pretty nervous.

I slid out of the Packard and went over to her.

There was a crowd of people milling around: some of them waiting for taxis: some greeting friends.

Odette saw me coming and started towards me. We met by the bus.

‘Hello there,’ I said. ‘The car…’

A heavy hand dropped on my shoulder: a hand that could belong to a cop. For a moment I was completely paralysed. Then I looked around, my heart skipping every other beat.

A broad-shouldered, suntanned man of around fifty stood grinning at me.

‘Harry! Well, what do you know! How’s the ex-jailbird!’

I recognised him immediately. His name was Tim Cowley. He was a reporter for the Pacific Herald: a first rate newspaper man who visited Palm City fairly regularly, and with whom I had worked and played golf whenever he came my way.

The unexpected sight of him threw me in such a panic I couldn’t utter a word.

I grabbed hold of his hand and shook it, slapping him on the shoulder while I made a frantic effort to gain control of myself.

Odette just stood there. I wanted to scream at her to go away.

‘Why… Tim!’

Somehow I managed to get my voice going.

‘I’ve just blown in. How are you, boy?’

‘I’m fine. Good to see you again.’

The shrewd, ever-curious eyes moved from me to Odette.

‘Hey… don’t keep a lovely like this to yourself. Introduce me, you dope.’

‘This is Ann Harcourt,’ I said. ‘Ann, this is Tim Cowley: a great newspaper man.’

Too late, Odette seemed to realise the danger. She backed away, looked at me and then at Cowley and seemed on the point of bolting. I reached out and caught hold of her wrist.

‘Ann’s a friend of Nina’s,’ I said to Cowley, ‘She’s passing through to Los Angeles and she’s staying the night with us.’ My fingers dug into her wrist. ‘What are you doing here, Tim?’

With his eyes still on Odette, ‘The usual grind. Have you a car here, Harry? Can you drop me off at the Plaza?’

‘I’m sorry… I’m going the other way. Nina’s waiting for us.’ I looked at Odette. ‘The car’s over in the park. Wait for me, will you?’ I gave her a shove, sending her on her way across the road towards the car park.

I saw Cowley looking after her, one eyebrow lifted.

‘That kid is so shy,’ I said, ‘she just freezes at the sight of any man.’

‘That’s a fact. She looked scared to death. What’s biting her?’

‘She’s just a sex-conscious kid. She and Nina get along fine, but she drives me nuts.’

It was the right thing to say for he suddenly grinned.

‘I know. Kids of her age get like that. What are you doing now, Harry?’

I told him I was working for the District Attorney.

‘We’ll get together and have a talk,’ I said. ‘I mustn’t keep this kid waiting or she’ll lay an egg.’